KPAI: Vulnerable Children Exploited Through Social Media

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Commissioner for Trafficking and Child Exploitation of the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection Ai Maryati Solihah said children are vulnerable to being exploited by someone through social media, including sexual exploitation.

"In one case, the exploitation was carried out very systematically in making the child the victim. The child was exploited, recorded, then the recording was disseminated," Ai said as quoted by Antara, Wednesday, July 29.

According to data from the KPAI in the field of trafficking and exploitation, children who are victims of prostitution rank the highest. One of the modes of targeting children for sexual exploitation and trafficking is through social media.

On the other hand, pornography and cyber crimes involving children are also quite high. According to the KPAI data system, in 2018 there were 116 children being victims of online sexual crimes, 96 children being perpetrators of online sexual crimes, 134 children being victims of pornography on social media, and 112 children being perpetrators of pornographic media ownership.

"The data and cases that have been revealed to the public are more about the iceberg phenomenon. In fact, there are definitely more cases that have occurred," he said.

Online-based forms of sexual exploitation include the use of children for pornographic purposes; grooming and sexting, namely introducing in cyberspace with a child using a false identity and then persuading the child to exchange pornographic photos; and sextortion, namely cyber extortion of children as a continuation of grooming and sexting by using photos containing child pornography as a threat.

Ai said, Indonesia already has a number of laws and regulations regarding the protection of children from exploitation. These regulations include Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Labor, Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons, and Law Number 10 of 2012 concerning the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.

Then, there is also Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection, Law Number 44 of 2008 concerning Pornography, and Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Electronic Information and Transactions.